Okay, I know that this year the only person we can realistically compare him to is his team-mate, against whom he is performing admirably. But we all know how close he came to securing a Brawn drive for 2009, and Barrichello was only picked over him because of his experience and lack of testing. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7934674.stm)

However, what do you guys think he could have actually done last year with the championship-winning car if he really is more talented than someone who won two Grands Prix.

Just to set the ball rolling, I personally think it would have taken him until about Turkey/Silverstone for him to get to grips with the car (and Button). Ironically, that was around the same time that Red Bull jumped up above Brawn. What do you guys think he could have achieved?

I think he could have won at least once.I’d say he would have finished around 5th or 6th.In terms of the constructor’s championship,it was best keeping Barrichello as he was vastly more experienced.Rubens would have always finished higher than Bruno because of experience.

Having Bruno in the car though would have most likely brought a lot of sponsorship and money that Brawn very much needed.

He did test for Honda, but he didn’t race in 2009 and didn’t have the advantages Brawn had but HRT didn’t. Therefore, I think he would have performed better last year, even if the car was uncompetetive, which it wasn’t. So yes, I do think he could have done well in the WDC but he would not be champion.

Very interesting question. It’s really difficult to know how he might have done. You have to feel a bit sorry for him though… he came so close to debuting in F1 in the best car on the grid… but he ended up being rejected and having to resort to Hispania a year later. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think his F1 career will ever really take off

Unfortunately Ned, I can forsee the same, unfortunately I think that Chandok may end up in the same boat. I would love to see them both in better cars but I think that they may sink when Hispania does. Unfortunately the Hispania is so far back there isn’t even the likelihood of an Alonso-in-a-Minardi showing from Hispania.

I think the reasons for Bruno being at Hispania rather than Brawn are much more to do with the fact that Brawn realised how good Barrichello was in comparison to Bruno.

Remember, from a financial point of view I think Bruno would have brought money to the struggling team (whos future must have been in doubt then) and he was already proved to be a competent racer in GP2. Thing is, he was never great in GP2 and I then think the year out that he took really damaged his attractiveness to any existing F1 teams.

I’d dearly love Bruno to turn around and start performing brilliantly, but honestly I can’t see it because at the moment he lacks the talent of the best drivers on the grid.

out of all the new drivers this year, (hulkenburg, petrov, di grassi, chandhok, kobayshi) senna has to be 3rd best for me behind kobayshi and hulk. i think in a car such as a renault, he would be closer to kubica than petrov.

Unfortunately there’s really just no way to know where he’d stack up against the other rookies since they’re all in different cars. Chandhok hasn’t qualified as well as Senna, but when he still had a car he was still giving Senna a run for his money…

Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t there a few races last year where it was reported that Jenson had benefited from Rubens set up information? If Bruno was there, perhaps Jenson might not have won as many races and the title fight would have been closer (or even lost).

Good poiny Cacarella. They needed Rubens experience and apparently he’s a set up wizard, no two drivers will want exactly the same from the car but it’s good to have something to compare to and maybe take hints from. It would have been more important if the Brawn had a narrower set up window for hitting the sweet spot of the car.

Bruno would have been fairing much better than now. I think it would have taken qutie a while for him to come on strong with the lack of testing but he should have been in the points every race esp as the field wasn’t as competitive last year. By the time he was ready for a race win though then it might have been when RBR were the quickest though.

I’m with the idea that of Bar wasn’t at Brawn last year, Button would have had a much more difficult time winning the title, if he had won it at all. Bar was openly sharing info with Button at first, but at about the same point Button stopped dominating, you could see that Bar was not as open as he used to. perhaps at that point he stopped sharing information to give himself a chance.

As for Bruno, i still don’t get why no one has banked on his name at least. he’s got talent, everyone knows that, the best endorsement you can get in a name if you are racing, and sponsors to boot. I think if Renault want to win big for next year, they should hire Bruno to partner Kubica.

because The Renault and Senna name in Brazil go very much hand in hand, and Renault need all the help they can get to increase their market share in the Brazilian market. they tried with Piquet jr., the little cheating weasel, but I think Bruno is their ticket to Brazilian automotive Valhalla.

and in my opinion Bruno need a car that will show what he is capable of, and Renault is just about right for this stage of his career.